Garcia not promising technical fight but vows to show improvement at UFC on FX 3

SUNRISE, Fla. – For all of the ups and downs Leonard Garcia (15-8-1 MMA, 2-4 UFC) has endured in a brawl-filled 13-year MMA career, he’s never before had to deal with two straight losses.

So after back-to-back defeats to Nam Phan and Chan Sung Jung, Garcia was forced to go back to the drawing board.

And while it seems everyone’s suggestion for Garcia is to brawl less and look to take a more technical approach to fighting, “Bad Boy” said he’s not entirely sure that’s in his nature. Instead, Garcia said there’s a long-forgotten part of his game that he’s going to bring back to light.

“I can’t promise that I’m going to be more technical,” Garcia told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “Technical is something that happens really well whenever I’m hitting pads or even sparring. But when it’s game time, I always tend to cut loose a little bit.”

It’s an approach that hasn’t been all bad. Sure, Garcia isn’t exactly in the title hunt right now at just 3-5-1 in his past nine fights, especially considering all three wins have come via split decision. But he has cashed in on four “Fight of the Night” checks in his past six fights and earned the loyalty of his boss, UFC president Dana White, who admits to being a fan of Garcia’s go-for-broke style.

But Garcia admits that’s not enough for him anymore. Winning has become a new requirement.

“If you’re not winning, why do you want to be here?” Garcia asked. “Of course the fans love it. I love the fans, too, and I’m always here to give them a show. And I feel like that was a big win-win for me, being able to win the ‘Fight of the Night,’ having the support of all the people. But at the end of the day, you want to be in the winning bracket.

“Two losses in a row is something I’ve never had to deal with my whole life. Every time that I lost something, I was able to find my way back and win. Having two losses in a row, that was hard to swallow. I don’t want that to happen again.”

Garcia on Friday looks to right the ship against Matt Grice (14-4 MMA, 1-4 UFC) when the two meet at UFC on FX 3, which takes place at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla. Garcia will likely hold the edge in striking skills, but Grice is known primarily as a wrestling standout, capable of bringing most opponents to the floor.

Perfect, said Garcia. That’s exactly what he’s hoping to see.

“I think he’s got a really good wrestling game, but I think it’s limited,” Garcia said. “He’s able to take guys down, but then doesn’t do anything with it. He holds guys down and kind of beats them up.

“I have a ground game. I haven’t used it as much in the UFC, but I’ve been drilling really hard. I’ve been working really hard. My submission game is back, and if I have to show that, if Matt does take me down, he’s going to see it.”

It may sound like a bold claim from a man forever immortalized as the first (and to date, only) UFC fighter to fall victim to a twister when Jung caught him in the maneuver, but nine of Garcia’s first 10 career wins did come via tapout. On top of that, Garcia said he went to study with the man responsible for popularizing the twister, Eddie Bravo.

“‘The Korean Zombie,’ he tricked me,” Garcia said. “I had never seen a twister before. After that, I went out with Eddie Bravo, made a couple of jokes, then went out there and trained with him. I got caught in a twister once since then by Eddie Bravo, so getting caught by the master isn’t that bad.”

Grice also is in desperate need of a win. He was 0-3 in his first octagon stint and was released by the promotion for nearly two years. He returned in June 2011 only to lose again, so a loss to Garcia could easily result in another pink slip.

Garcia wouldn’t have it any other way. He may not be the most technical fighter in the division, but he certainly knows how to scrap. On Friday night, he’s out to prove that while he may not look any more technical, he’s still going to be better.

“This is a great position for both of us because both of our backs are against the wall,” Garcia said. “We both have to go for it, and we’ve got 15 minutes to prove which one of us belongs. Put me in a bad situation, and I always come out on top. I’ve proven that time and time again, so hopefully history repeats itself, as it always does.

“I’m excited to go in there and show the people the new and improved Leonard Garcia.”

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